


Fun and Games

by drumrockstar21



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, I GUESS I'll have a plot, Idek fam this is just randomness, Romance, it'll be super cute I promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-09-28 04:38:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10072082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drumrockstar21/pseuds/drumrockstar21
Summary: When Marinette starts feeding the stray cat, Chat Noir starts to open up in ways she didn't expect.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I literally write these in an hour, with Miraculous playing in the background. That being said, I do hope you enjoy! Basically these will be done whenever the inspiration hits me lol

With the winter drizzle slowly seeping away, Marinette found herself drawn back to the balcony. 

This happened every year around the same time. As the thermometer broke above 15 degrees Celsius, so too did Marinette break above her room to enjoy Paris skies. This year, unlike most, had been unseasonably...unreasonable. For one week in December it had snowed, blizzard-like even! Just as quickly as it came however it vanished, leaving a sticky and sloshy mess for January to clean up. 

Marinette's balcony though didn't have "poor road conditions" or "high water hazards." So, as with every year, she ventured out with a bowl of sweets and a sketch pad. Though unlike every other year, she sensed more than saw a hint of a black flash across the sky. Before the girl could even wonder what had caused the slight breeze in her hair, bright green eyes were hanging above her head. 

"Why hello there Princess!"

"bwWAH!" And with that, she knew she would never be allowed to relax on her balcony again. 

After a slight (major) tumble, she found herself staring down into her room, and she turned to see a look of pure horror swiftly replaced by pure relief. 

"Don't go falling for me yet little lady, we can't have you breaking that pretty face of yours." Chat said with his everlasting grin. 

After what seemed like ages, thoughts finally began to form in her mind. Thoughts like, "why is Chat Noir on my roof?" and "how am I flying above my room?" or even "why oh WHY does my belt feel too tight? but only in the front?" And as these inquiries swirled in a mental pond of confusion, one question that she hadn't willed forward began rushing out. 

"CHAT NOIR WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR'E DOING?!"

He physically recoiled at the sudden outburst, although he should have expected as much. Coming out of nowhere to HER balcony on top of HER house? What WAS he thinking? "I-um well I just, oof-why am I stammering?" Quickly pulling her up by her waistband (well that answers two of my questions) he gently placed her back onto the balcony. Starting again, she could see his shoulders sag slightly. 

Looking at the floor, he admitted quietly, "I just wanted to say hi."

A wave of guilt flooded over her like the melting snow had flooded the streets of Paris. Had her reaction really cut at him so much? Taking a breath to finally recover from the dangerous fall, she spoke gently to him. "Thank you for stopping by Chat, I'm sorry I snapped at you because of my own klutziness." 

And as she looked up at him through her eyelashes with her head slightly bent forward, she watched his smile barely, but oh so obviously return to his face. And it quickly exploded into a full blown Cheshire grin. "Well, you're just lucky I was here to save you from that fur-ful height Princess."

Wow. That was clearly his worst pun that week.


	2. How (not) to Get Rid of a Cat.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette gets a little revenge, and Chat reveals his addiction.

"No."

A beat of silence. 

"Pardon?"

"I said no, that was a disgusting pun Chat." And with that, she pushed him. 

The trauma that followed couldn't have been predicted. Marinette would never accept that her light, playful shove to his chest had caused such a scene on her balcony. Chat had to have been messing with her.

Whatever the case, she knew the facts. Allegedly, "due to her push" Chat fell backwards. One step, two steps back, and with a quick spin Chat Noir caught himself on the railing. Crisis averted right?

Except that Chat's spin caused a certain leather tail to whip across a young girl's face. Except that the young girl in question wasn't actually hurt by it. Except that because she wasn't hurt, she decided to mess with him since she still wanted to get back at him for scaring her. Except that a grin spread between her cheeks, as the near-fatal pun was delivered. 

"MEOW-CH CHAT!"

And with that the Black Cat of Paris couldn't contain himself. A surprised choke and half a laugh later he felt the panic of slipping over the rail. The inanimate object that had saved him a moment before now hastened his doom. He began to flip forwards over the rails until he suddenly stopped. 

A second passed by. 

Wondering if he was dead yet, he slowly dared to open his eyes. First the left, and when he realized he was moving at approximately zero kilometers and hour, the other eye shot open. Craning his neck to look behind him, he saw the raven haired girl behind him. 

The moon over her shoulder caused dark hair to glimmer in the dim light.   
'Just bright enough to be beautiful'

And before he had a chance to analyze his background thoughts, she shot him an easy smile and a line. 

"I didn't expect you to go and fall head over heels for little old me Chat!"

If Chat's lower back wasn't screaming in pain in that moment, he probably, no definitely, would have laughed.

She had grabbed his tail! Just as he had saved her upon his arrival (admittedly somewhat due to his arrival as well) she had saved him. AND IT HURT. 

He hadn't had anybody grab his tail before, and he knew he didn't want anyone to ever grab it again. 

Quickly jolted out of his sudden space out, Chat quickly backflipped back over the railing. Tending to his tender tail, he begrudgingly added "Well it looks like this cat has some luck after all." Dropping what he had only considered an accessory until know, he said with honesty in his voice. "Thanks for the save Marinette."

There was no way she would let this one go. 

"Well maybe you shouldn't be such a klutz, Monsieur Noir" she added with a playful wink. Chat moved to speak but didn't get his chance. "Since you've put your Purr-incess in a good mood with your visit this evening." Turning away, towards the sky, she snappily added, "You are allowed to stay."

Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Marinette caught his surprised expression at her forwardness. 'Wow, I must be in a good mood to be making puns' she thought to herself. 

Quickly recovering, Chat replied with a grand bow, "Why I humbly thank you Princess" and before his gesture was complete, he caught her eye and threw it a wink. 

It was obvious to Marinette that Chat had no intentions of leaving soon. And contrary to what she had just told him, if she wanted any hope of passing her quiz the next day she needed to get rid of him, even if she was enjoying herself. Peeking at her phone from her pajama pocket, while she had known it was late, she didn't think it was 12:07 am type of late. 

To say Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not known to be an early riser was the understatement of the century, Marinette was known to be a sleeping-in guru to her friends and family. Nino even asking her to 'teach him her ways' of sleeping till 1 pm on a Saturday. 

She turned around and spoke, "As much as I'd like to stay up all night with you kitty-" being abruptly cut off. 

"Oh would you like that now?" And taking a step forward, the last thing he had expected to hear was a small *crunch* underneath his feet. 

Looking down he could see a small, flat circles the ground. When he leaned in closer, the moonlight made it clear this was some sort of candy coated...well...something! 

"Oh no! I must have spilled my candy dish when I fell into my room. I'll have to come up and clean the balcony tomorrow." She detailed as he lifted the crushed sweet up to his face. 

"Skittles!" And even though he had said it with enthusiasm, he immediately kicked his brain for sounding so idiotic. 'Of course she knows they're Skittles! She's the one that brought them up!'

Surprisingly to Chat, he wasn't berated through sarcasm as he expected to be. 

Stopping midway through picking up her bowl. Marinette simply looked at him with a (very cute) head tilt and a (VERY cute) cotton-soft smile. "Yeah, we had a bowl of them downstairs so I brought them up to snack on!" She told him, following up with a giggle. 

Half-mumbling, Chat said rapidly "Skittlesarelove. Skittlesarelife."

"Huh?"

"Oh sorry, it's just an internet thing." Waving her concerns off with his hand. "I just, well I may be addicted to Skittles. But what some call an addiction, I call..." and looking up thoughtfully Chat settled on what the punchline would be. "No, actually I'd call it an addiction too."

Starting out as a snort, she began laughing slightly too loud for this close to midnight. Marinette was clearly pleased with the punchline he decided on. 

'Nailed it' his brain told him as his own laugh grew with hers. 

Looking at the half-spilt bowl, Marinette got an idea and it had to have been evident on her face because Chat was curious before she even spoke. "Oh oh oh! Chat I have an idea!"

"Well, what is it Princess?"

"Let's play a game!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry Chat, I can't judge your addiction seeing as mine is Tootsie Roll pops.


	3. A Rainbow of Emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silly teenage emotions decide it's time for things to get real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this chapter like 3 times and even though it's not what I was planning, I enjoy the almost improv feel i get while writing! I hope you enjoy as well!

"Ready?"

"I was BORN ready!"

With a short giggle she tossed the candy up into the air between them and she immediately felt the disappointment hit her. 

'Too hard.'

To her surprise Chat suddenly leapt upwards. She couldn't quite see it but after about a meter or two into the air he audibly snapped his mouth closed. 

As soon as he landed she excitedly began "well did you get it?"

"Yep! Why would you ever doubt me, hmm?" And leaned towards her with a look she could only describe as mischievous. 

"Alright! That's one to me, your turn now pretty girl." Quickly he took a Skittle out of his left hand and with a grin he tossed the sweet into the air before she could react to his flirtations. 

In a panic, she immediately looked up with an open mouth. A phantosecond later, what felt like a small stone smacked her front teeth. "Ow!" Covering her mouth, she said through muffling hands, "Chat that doesn't count! I wasn't ready!" 

"Oh fine, I'll give you another one alright?" Nodding towards her partner, she crouched and held her mouth slightly agape. 

"You ready this time?"

"Sure thing alley cat." she said preparing herself, "do NOT make me jump though."

"Deal," and chuckling he tossed the Skittle up into the sky. 

Eyes trained on the treat, she followed it as it left his hand, travelled for what felt like days up through the moonlight, and on its descent she positioned herself at the end of its trajectory. 

Only to have it hit her forehead. 

In the stunned second she stood there, a cackling echoed across the balcony. She looked to see him doubled over laughing. He stuttered to regain his breath. 

"Ohhhhh!! I-I'm sorry!" He cried out between laughing spurts. "Oh jeez I'm sorry Marinette." But the fact he was wiping away a laughing tear from his eye while saying this didn't persuade the girl. 

So she did what any logical and sane person would do in that moment. 

She logically took a handful of Skittles from the bowl. 

She rationally lined up the shot. 

She sanely threw a leadwall of candies at him with all her strength.   
(An insane person would have pushed him off the balcony, she reasoned.)

Rather than flinching from the barrage, Chat slammed shut his eyes and threw open his mouth. After the rainbow shower ended, he opened his eyes with excitement and shouted (albeit with a slur), "I GOT ONE!"

He realized that her instantaneous giggling was not directed at his self-proclaimed "skillz". While he watched dumbfounded, she stepped up to him and plucked a piece of red from his collar. 

Staring for just a moment at her hand his brain processed how to react. "Well, it was a Skittle shower after all!" He defended. His barricade shattering as she pulled a green apple candy from inside his cat ear, causing him to flinch away at the contact. 

"Ah-ahhh."

"Oh! Did that hurt?" She gasped. Even with the light mood between them he could tell she was genuinely worried, either that or she was really laying on the sarcasm thick. 

"No." he said shaking his head, " no, It was just uncomfortable, like...how you might bend your arm wrong or something" he answered nonchalantly. And just to prove it he tacked on a shrug at the end. 

Quickly smirking up at him, she dropped the Skittle. "You mean like this?" And before he could react she grabbed his left wrist and twisted it around his back.

"Hey! Ow! Now that does hurt!" Chat yelled from his place against the railing. "Be careful or you'll send me over again!" He warned in the most annoyingly teasing way possible. 

Hearing the oh so familiar teasing from her partner, she rolled her eyes. They both knew he could throw her into the Seine from where they were standing. Getting out of a wrist lock from 15 year old Marinette wasn't an issue for the black cat hero.

And yet there he stood like a helpless kitten. So being the compassionate partner she was, she inched his arm up his back chanting into his right ear (the real one) "tap. out. tap. out. tap. out."

Hearing the clanging on the railing gave her the signal that she "truly" had bested him. And while she didn't push any further, she also refused to let him out of her submission hold. 

That is till she looked down at herself. 

Her right hand was holding Chat's wrist just below his shoulder blade. 

'Nothing weird about that' her mind chimed in. 

His arm was in between the two teens. Since she had been whispering her victory chant in his ear while on her tip-toes, her "chest" was flush against his back. 

With his arm straight up the center of her chest. 

And while she couldn't see it, she could feel the leather clad buttocks of a certain blonde hero VERY warm against her tensed thighs. 

Her mind chimed in once more at this point, 

'ABORT. ABORT. ABORT.'

Leaping with Ladybug-like strength, she landed back first into the small chair on her balcony. 

"Huh-whoa are you alright Marinette?" Chat said, spinning around and somewhat perplexed at the violent reaction to seemingly nothing. 

Marinette was spinning around as well, but hers on a much more mental scale. "W-w-what are you talking about? I mean alright? Yeah I'm just perfect! Wait not perfect! But okay! I'm okay! But-but not butt okay!" Marinette stammered, wrapping up with a facepalm. 

"...okay?" Chat replied while his mind attempted to make sense of the situation. "Well, anyways I should probably get going. I don't want to keep you up till school starts." Ending with a chuckle to try and lighten the mood. 

"Yeah, I really should get some sleep. I'm late to school enough as is." Marinette said, happy to have a rest from the excitement. Tucking her knees into her chest, she looked at Chat. 'He really does look like a lost little kitten.' her mind giggled. 

Chat Noir stood facing her, looking towards what she could only assume was his home. Framed by the moonlight with golden blonde hair floating in the oddly warm breeze, he stood stock still. The seconds ticked by as though he was posing for a glamour shot. Finally he looked at the floor and quietly spoke with a simple, "goodnight Marinette." and bowed forward. 

In stunned silence at his sudden gentleness, Marinette couldn't help the way her mouth opened slightly. She realized just as Chat looked up at her. Fully expecting to catch flak for her thoughtless error, she scrambled to excuse her opened mouth. 

But he just looked. He looked with eyes that held more emotions than she knew existed. She recognized confusion, pensiveness, a touch of exhaustion, even gentleness, and finally...hope? What boiling green witches brew could have concocted these eyes that burned into her for an intense second and caused her own emotions to swirl in tandem. 

He inhaled deeply, exhaling similarly. After what seemed to be an eternity, Chat stood and left without another word. 

His eyes were gone, yet his gaze lingered. The single second that had felt like years suddenly seemed like an untouchable memory. It was on the forefront of her mind, but she couldn't grasp it. 

Another memory flashed back to her. She had heard some of the other students talking about their party from the weekend before last. One had said he got 'turnt' (a phrase which Nino explained to her later) but it wasn't the same as his first experience; that he was constantly chasing that first high. 

Shaking her consciousness back into submission, she shuffled past the rainbow that was still lying around the balcony and slid into her bed. 

Not being able to shake the image of green eyes, she was worried she wouldn't be able to sleep. But before she could even finish the thought, she opened her eyes to the dim sunlight peering into her room. 

'Or rather purrrrrring into your room.' Supplied her brain, working at 30% capacity. 

"Fantastic, and now I'm thinking in puns."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here I thought this whole fic was going to be fluff. I should've known my writing-self better XD


	4. Just a Cat Nap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter, just another stepping stone till we get to the amazingness! I had an idea. So I am HYPER excited for the next few chapters! As always, enjoy!

It was 10 o'clock. 

The sun was shining into her face. 

The stupid sun needed to die. Could Ladybug kill the sun? Doubtful, maybe Chat Noir could. He is the embodiment of destruction after all. He probably would try if she asked. 

Silly images of Chat Noir trying to extend his baton to reach the sun came to mind. An unsuppressed giggle trickled through her lips and into her room. 

With remnants of sleep still clogging her mind, she imagined Chat donning a fish bowl on his head. A dirty fish bowl at that. "I'll destroy that star for you, my Lady. After all you shine bright enough to light the entire world." He would say before launching off on his pole. 

"Cataclysm!"

'Her own imagination' jolted her awake. 

She quickly tried to piece the dream back together. As most dreams though, it was just out of her mind's reach. "That dream had sounded so real, almost as though he was right there."

Then Chat Noir flew tail first past her window. 

'Oh.'

"It's too early for this. It's only TEN O'CLOCK!" She screeched as panic ran through her half asleep mind. We need to make this one fast."

And not a second later, the room echoed yet again with the words "Tikki, spots on!"  
\-------  
The poor kitten had nearly drowned by the time she got there. Standing up with water at his knees, he had all the grace of an actual wet cat. When he dashed home with water dripping off his suit, she couldn't help but laugh. For all his bravado, he really did act like a cat-boy. 

Once she could have sworn she heard him purr. 

For now though, the civilian had been saved and she could only assume Chat had toweled off by now. So Marinette dashed around her room. Clothes flying every direction, hair frantically brushed into place, and the possibility of a quick shower thrown out the window as she rapidly readied for another, "You're tardy again Marinette." From her teacher. 

At least until she heard her mother from downstairs, "Marinette are you finally up?" A quick look at the clock revealed it was 11:22. "I turned off your alarm, school was cancelled today. All of Paris is in a state of emergency!"

Well that explained why the akuma had been ranting about an important meeting being cancelled. 

"Oh okay! Thank you Maman!" Marinette said, already in a flopping motion. 

*flop* said her mattress. 

Marinette felt she deserved a nap. After all, she had been thrown face first into flooded streets multiple times that morning. 

"You just woke up less than two hours ago!" A squeaking voice grated against her tired ears. "Not to mention you need a shower, you smell like that street water." If she had Chat's cat ears, they would be flat against her head at the moment. A mixture of discomfort

"I'm just closing my eyes for a minute Tikki." She said, sleep making her words lethargic. "Just...a minou-te...hehehe."

Tiki could only shake her head. She flew up to her cheek and layer her head against it. "You two really are made for each other." She lovingly whispered to the passed out girl.


	5. Plagg gets Catty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Plagg regrets messing with Adrien.

Adrien's mind was currently a small battlefield. 

"Is it weird if-"

"Yes." replied the nasal tones of a small cat. 

"Plagg! You don't even know-"

" I don't have to, everything you do is weird kid. Especially if you start off by asking if it's weird." Plagg casually replied, sitting on the nightstand and facing away from his charge. Rather he was lounging, face down in a small wheel of Camembert cheese. 

"Alright, well." Adrien hesitated to ask. He rolled his face towards the kwami. Still in his bed hours after the akuma fight, he tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, "I was thinking...since I didn't see Marinette at school today, we should go visit her is all!" He added a small pout for sympathy. 

The false innocence was quickly shot down. 

Plagg managed to look Adrien in the eye, forehead still buried in cheese. "You miss school all the time for photoshoots. Why do suddenly need to see Marinette everyday?"

"Okay well, hear me out here." Which only caused Plagg to lay back into his cheese. "Ughhh."

Knowing he was still listening, Adrien he sat up and continued, "she didn't see ANY of her friends since school was closed!" Making wide gestures to emphasize his point. "Knowing Marinette she probably made some designs or something, but I think she would want to see at least one friend today, don't you?"

Plagg smiled. A grin that was somewhere between playful and damn near evil showed on his face. 

But only the cheese saw it. 

Straight faced, Plagg brought his face out of the small cheese wheel to look Adrien in the eyes. "In other words, YOU want to see at least one friend today."

The boy slid to the end of his bed and placed his feet on the cold hardwood. He wasn't sure if the chill he just felt was from the ground or from the literal embodiment of bad luck staring him down. "W-well I wouldn't mind if-"

"Well then why not Nino? He is your best friend after all, right?"

"Of course! But why would Chat Noir visit Nino?" Adrien started to remember why he didn't ask Plagg for advice. The kwamii floated towards him slowly and Adrien scrambled to stand. He backed up towards his window matching speed with Plagg. 

"Well why would Chat Noir be visiting Marinette?"

"B-because she u-um-"

"Speaking of which, how exactly are Marinette and Chat Noir friends?" It was becoming increasingly harder to hide his grin. Luckily, Adrien was too flustered trying to answer the questions to notice. 'Well then let's keep it that way.' Plagg thought. 

The questions came rapid fire now, Adrien only able to stutter after each one. "Does Marinette even enjoy the attention? Or maybe she a huge Chat Noir fan? And what if Chat and Marinette DO become friends? Surely it would be hard to say, go to the mall or something. I think Chat Noir hanging out with a teenage girl would draw attention. I doubt Marinette would want to be in the tabloids. Wouldn't it be easier to just hang around her as your civilian self? If only she knew it was Adrien on her balcony at night, or that it was Chat sitting in front of her during class."

Plagg stopped dead. 

He could see it on the kid's face. The eyebrows knitted together, the lips stuck to each other like glue and his tongue could be seen poking into his cheek. He was actually considering it! 'Crap, I spent too long on that question.' 

"A-and what about, umm" it was Plagg's turn to stutter, looking around the room, searching for a question to distract Adrien with. Without any such luck ('typical' he thought) Adrien looked up at Plagg and without another second's hesitation he smirked and the brat said...IT. 

"Thanks for the help. Plagg, claws out!"

"W-WAIT ADRIEN IT WAS JUST A JO-AGGHH" he sputtered before spinning into the silver ring. 

He took a moment to mentally prepare himself. He stood only a moment to look out over Paris before vaulting out his window. 

'Why do I want to visit Marinette?'

Still not sure he could answer, he decided he'd figure it out when he got there. Perhaps seeing her would clear his mind of the strange and unidentifiable haze he had found. 

Maybe he'd get lost in the fog. 

He caught sight from the building across from her. Elbows perched on the railing, staring out into the misty Paris night, he realized he was only trekking deeper into that misty abyss. 

No turning back.


	6. A Long Night Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author really tries, honestly. 
> 
> The final set up before we get to the good stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't try posting on mobile kids. 
> 
> \----------
> 
> Me: Hey I should try and focus on the fics I have partially posted
> 
> Also me: Yeah but here's a bunch of awesome fic ideas, start them instead. 
> 
> Me again: OK!
> 
>  
> 
> Seriously I have a bulleted list of fics I want to write and it just keeps growing inversely with how much time I have.

Chapter 6 -- A Long Night Begins

It was a strange feeling that Marinette experienced. 

There she stood, alone on her balcony; there she stood with shadows watching her. 

That was sappy. 

The girl couldn't help it, she got poetic when sleepy. 

All the same, she really did feel like she was being watched. It was only when she noticed a twitching tail that she realized why. 

She eyed the cat-boy from across the street. Of course she didn't look right at him, that would give him too much satisfaction. Her head remained firmly in place. 

Her eyes wavered though. 

It was almost second nature to see her partner in the corner of her eye. She felt like her peripherals had been trained to track his form. 

Said form was still standing there. 

Elongated seconds ticked by. 'What are you doing you crazy cat?'   
Anticipation mounted, but she refused to turn. She hardly dared to dart her eyes over at him. 

Resisting any inclination to twist her head, her pupils slowly widened to greet the darkness he stood in. 

He still stood there, just watching. 

Her mind aptly compared him to a cat waiting to pounce on his prey. 

Supposing that he would just stand there till he was ready, she looked back out over the cold, flowing river. She vaguely thought of the beauty of movement (in an effort to resist thoughts of Chat Noir) until she finally heard a 

*clunk*

on her iron banister. 

'It's about time alley cat'

She turned, her wittiest line on the edge of passing her lips. Marinette instead was greeted with empty air. Enough of it to strip the air out of her own lungs. She had fully expected a blonde mop to be within arms reach. 

A tight and meek smile shot across the roof to her and held her frozen in the spot. She could only stare back, helplessly lock-jointed. Chat looked down to guide the hand scavenging in his pocket. 

She managed to relax her shoulders, not realizing how tight they were till she released them. The momentary respite from his paralyzing gaze was short lived though. He looked back across to the balcony, although not directly at her, thinking possibly? Her muscles retensed regardless. 

Her nerves drifted into confusion. Chat took aim at the balcony. His overhand throw of artillery landed with another *clunk* against the balcony rail. 

What was that, a pebble? It had been tiny, far too small to make out. 

Marinette's attention was drawn back to the black cat across the way. Silhouetted against the red tile roof, he excitedly pointed at her. 

Although she was confused, Marinette wouldn't dare to yell towards the building he stood on. She couldn't risk waking neighbors to find her 'Chatting' it up as it were. Not to mention what her parents would think, finding her with a literal superhero on her balcony.

A stealthy teen boy with features similar to the boy she had a crush on that, hypothetically, could have nearly unrestricted access to her balcony and bedroom. 

'Yeah, don't think that would go over too well' Marinette mentally concluded. 

So in lieu of yelling, she raised her hands in questioning and made it a combo with a negatory head shake. 

His melodramatic exasperation forced her to hold back a giggle. She would NOT let Chat Noir know how much he truly amused her. Sometimes even the puns got to her, but that was a guarded secret in the depths of her being. 

He would never stop if he knew that. 

After flailing his arms in half-hearted frustration, he started his charades again. 

He crouched down, just slightly bending his knees. At the same time he opened his mouth and angled his head towards the night sky. After letting her clearly see the position, he returned to a casual position and pointed at her, nodding his head in tandem. He nodded as if to say, "You do it now!"

It was ridiculous, but what else was she going to do. 

With some hesitation, she adopted the same position he had modeled. Facing him, she kept her eyes trained to his hand. Said appendage slipped back into his pocket and raised up next to his face. When his hand shot like a ripcord, her mind went into overdrive. 

'He threw something!  
What did he just throw?!   
Should I close my mouth?   
Do I need to move?   
I need to move!  
Where is it?   
WHAT is it?!'

 

Before she could even think to react, a small pain jolted her mouth closed. Popping her in the tongue like the world's tiniest akuma punch. 

Her attention suddenly stolen away from Chat, she vaguely wondered if she dared bite into the tiny, slightly ovaled sphere her tongue had moved to between her molars. 

'I'm Ladybug! Of course I dare.'

*squige*

'Hmm...

 

...orange'

The flavored sugar poured over her tooth and waterfalled onto her tongue. It trickled around her mouth and finally pooled into the back of her throat before draining completely into her stomach. 

She really liked Skittles. 

*thump*

The sound of Chat dropping onto her balcony jolted her out of her naturally and artificially flavored trance. 

The cat had nearly closed the distance between them. She took what precious seconds of personal space she had left to examine his intent, her eyes involuntarily widening. 

His intense gaze showed his emotions like a painting, it told her two things. 

One: the smirk said he clearly enjoyed how increasingly flustered she had become at his progressive assault. (Never mind that he had done nothing but walked towards her.) 

'Wait am I sputtering?!'

Her brain registered the second point before she could fix her mouth's flounderings. 

Two: the wide eyes and sky-high eyebrows told her he was extremely excited over...

"That was awesome! You actually caught it!" He inadvertently answered. 

"O-oh! Yeah I guess I did, didn't I? I wasn't ready at all but it was r-really umm...cool." A distracted Marinette replied, a shy smile hesitantly making it's way onto her lips. Both voices remained low, as it seemed almost blasphemous to disturb the still of the Parisian night. 

He was clearly thrilled that the whole ordeal had been a success. To his credit though, he managed to reign in his excitement somewhat. Enough to maintain a relaxed air about him. It was a comfortably warm air that hadn't been resting around her a few moments before. Inexplicably, the balcony air didn't taste as frigid when she swallowed for air. 

These thoughts unbeknownst to Chat, he spoke as though they hadn't existed. 

Shame Marinette couldn't do the same. 

"H-hey Marinette." A sudden nervousness creeping into his voice. It was abruptly clear he wasn't there to just throw Skittles tonight. 

 

The sight of Marinette's nerves being transferred to her partner brought forward a little of her Ladybug confidence. Not enough to come at him with banter, but enough to address him solidly.   
"Yes, Chat?" She replied, looking up at him through her lashes.

\--

Adrien bit his lip. If he didn't draw his attention elsewhere, even a fraction of it, he was certain he would lose control. Marinette was looking up at him. 

LIKE THAT. 

The few inches his head rose above her gave him an amazing view. It wasn't enough that she was forced to look up at him, blinking her dark lashes that could hardly restrain the shimmer in her ocean-esque irises. 

Nope. Because the moonlight glazed over her lips like the light reflecting off an apple. 

Just a bite. 

No! That was NOT why he was here tonight! Words. He needed to use words!

"I...I umm..."

Impressive. Profound. Everything any woman would want in a man. 

He truly was a poet!

"I wanted to ask you a question!" Both of them flinching at how abruptly loud his words spilled out. It wasn't more than normal volume. However it seemed to shatter the quiet night, especially in comparison to how low their voices had been throughout tonight's encounter. 

He couldn't begin to know how to feel when she began giggling. 

"Well, then ask it alley cat." She trickled out through the light laughter. She finally pushed him away and walked to the small outdoor chair. Each movement with nimble purpose, she sat and crossed her legs. Leaving her hands in her lap, she expectantly watched him stand there. 

Remembering it wasn't polite to stare, he crouched down to the rooftop. In a way that could only be described as cat-like, he leaned back against the metal rail and slid down till he was sitting down with his knees still up, a few inches from his face.

His face was suddenly unreadable. One minute he had been an open book and in a second the book had snapped shut. Eyes looking at hers adamantly, eyebrows only barely raised, enough to where only she with her working knowledge of him could perceive they were even out of their resting place. Although recognizing the difference, she couldn't place what the expression meant. There was just no way to know what he was getting at. 

"If...if there was someone you cared about, and...you believed they cared about you as well...If this person existed...wouldn't you want to show them every side of yourself?"

He had continually paused throughout his inquiry. Almost as though he knew what he wanted to ask, but hadn't yet organized the words to do so until now. She could tell by the way his eyes had drifted from hers pensively with each pause, only to snap back to her eyes again when he found the words. 

She stared at the hands in her lap, taking his words in, paraphrasing them in her mind. 

'Would I want to show every side of myself to someone I cared about?'

Seeing as she couldn't quite tell what his reasoning was for asking, she could only be honest. Chat deserved no less than honesty, as her partner he had certainly earned that from her. 

'Except my identity. We can leave a little lie of omission in there' she thought. After a long moment, she compiled her feelings into sentences. 

"I think...that they should learn those things for themselves." She said, still watching the floor. She wasn't sure why, but it felt as though it would be atrocious for her to suddenly misspeak. "It's more of an experience if they learn with each other. If those two people really love each other..."

Had he said love? He had certainly implied it, so she trudged on. 

Chat's nervous shiver mercifully went unnoticed by the girl. 

"...then they should learn about each other through progress and making an effort to love each other. They should be open with each other, but...not everything should be served on a silver platter."

Chat regained his composure as she looked up at him. With only a hum of acknowledgement, he stared at the same spot she had just been burning a hole through. She was certain his gaze would tunnel into her room if left for much longer. It clearly hadn't been the answer he was expecting. 

Regardless, he seemed to take the words to heart. Finally with another nearly inaudible hum, he looked at her and spoke, "thanks Marinette. I...have a lot to think about."

He stood and she assumed he was readying to leave until he hopped onto the railing, tail first. Catching her eyes again, he waited just a second. 

Just a second before he let loose a crooked smile. That deliciously easy smile spread over his lips. Too inviting, too warm, too happy despite the hints that he had a lot on his mind in that moment. 

"So Princess," he started out, far more charming than she cared to admit. Until he ruined it. 

"Did you have a purrrrrfect day off?"

She couldn't hold back the snort she released if she wanted to. 

"Really?" She sarcastically replied, only to be met with a questioning look. "We could talk about anything, literally ANYTHING," she made a wide gesture at this to emphasize how big anything really was. "and you ask me how my day was? With a pun no less!"

He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged at her, "Whaaatt? It's not like I see you everyday." He lied. "I'm curious!"

He sharply stiffened as the girl quickly picked out the one snag in his honest comment. "Wait, how did you know I didn't have school today?" Turning her face up to scrutinize his reaction. 

Panic turned to action with only a second's hesitation. "I-uhh-well i didn't have school either! A lot of schools were closed today with the flooding." 

Something in the way he had become flustered sent off red flags in both her head and her heart. Nevertheless her investigative expression hesitantly melted away, "hmm...well I suppose that's true..." She had to rid herself of the remnant anxiety in left her chest, how would Chat relieve social tension? 

Jokes and puns of course. 

"But you should know," she charmed towards him, leaning forward in her seat. "curiosity killed the cat!" She watched as his final dregs of stress floated away and dragged hers along with. 

The confident grin made its way back to his face. "They also say, 'satisfaction brought it back' Sony they?"And as the retort slid easily off his tongue, she felt her Ladybug confidence swell fully up in her chest. The banter was almost second nature at this point. 

"Who said anything about satisfaction?" Marinette coyly smiled the words out. 

"Why Princess, being here is satisfaction enough for me." He said, tilting his head toward her. 

She spent no energy trying to resist the eye roll. Another gesture that had become almost standard in their partnership. While she was glad to have the same dynamic outside of the suit as well, she also didn't want to give herself away. 

'Although Ladybug is certainly balanced enough to toe the line' she grinned to herself. 

Standing abruptly, Marinette swaggered over to the far side of her balcony. She allowed a full blown grin to grace her lips as soon as her face was hidden. "But Chat Noir, what about all the other girls of Paris? Won't they miss their stray flirt since he comes to my balcony at night?" She playfully swooned out. 

Marinette resumed her previous position of forearms propped against the metal rail, looking off at the sky (albeit in a different direction now).

She didn't bother turn to look at him when he said cooly, "but Princess, why would I flirt with anyone else?" 

She could hear the smile in his voice and yet...he almost said it like he was surprised. As though it should be obvious to her she was the only one he ever dreamed to flirt with. 

The ridiculousness of what he proposed only served to embolden her. "Oh yeah? What about Ladybug then, hmm?" She chuckled, sarcasm dripping off her tongue. "But it's your story, you should stick with it." 

He paused for a moment, prompting her to turn her head. She managed to see him with her peripheral vision. 

"I..." she could almost hear him swallow in the sharp silence. "I don't think I'm going to do that anymore." And she began to move around to look at him directly, but only managed to twitch her head. As much as she wanted to see his face in that moment, she didn't dare to. 

'What? But...w-why? How? What?'

Suddenly her mental capacity nosedived. He just sounded so...honest. It felt like it wasn't the honesty he necessarily had been looking for, but it was still honest. 

Mental sirens wailed, red lights flashed around the pilots seat of her head. She just couldn't decipher what any of it meant!

He didn't wait for her to. "I really don't want to flirt with...well anyone else really." 

Marinette looked down at the street. Her chest tightened and in that moment, she couldn't pin down why. Was it petty jealousy...of herself? (At first glance ridiculous, but with how separated the two identities felt to her sometimes, it made sense.) 

Or did it feel like Chat was suddenly rejecting Ladybug? She took a short moment to try and breathe before speaking. "What about flirting when you're a civilian?" 

This was his moment. If he was going to tell her he was Adrien it had to be now. The moment was perfect. She had practically handed it to him on a silver platter!

'They should learn about each other through progress and making an effort to love each other.' Marinette's words echoed. 

The whole purpose of coming tonight had been about telling her this. Or at least it'd become that after Plagg's rant. 

So the new question became: Was he going to listen to Plagg or to Marinette?

'Well when you put it like that...'

"I don't flirt with girls as a civilian." His sober tone turned the air quiet. The moment of silence let an idea sneak into his head. It filled the vacuum left by his previous plan and every second that passed let the thought grow exponentially. Before he could even piece it together, the thoughts snowballed into words. 

"Marinette," he said. She stood frozen to the railing, with her forearms still propping her up on it. "could I take you somewhere?"

This finally reanimated the girl. Her eyes shot to him. Before she had fully turned her head, the wide eyes reflected what the lips said. 

"Yes!"


End file.
